Ford F-250

[jeffmc306]

Chrishall, I wouldn’t be afraid to go with the 7.3 Godzilla for anything Airstream sells today. Uraljohn made some great points of diesel vs. gas.

Check out the Ike Gauntlet Towing Test by TFL Trucks - they really like it.

n2916s, the death wobble is a real thing - KYD experienced it and has it on their website here. It can happen to any live axle 4WD vehicle, not just Ford.

The modern gas drivetrains are very dependable and unless you’re towing over 10K lbs., will do the job just fine.

[Dennis C]

Originally Posted by n2916s

I stand corrected. I guess that myth is just one of those things that fly around the internet with no basis in fact.

Thanks

It can be an issue with solid axle vehicles like Ford or Ram heavy duty trucks. That doesn’t mean that it will be an issue, but the possibility is real. That said, there are many people who swear by these vehicles and have no issues.

[bwatters]

I bought the diesel so I could use the truck stop fueling lanes. When I had a gasser Bounder, getting in and out of gas stations was a pain. Of course I also bought it for the pulling ability. If I ever decide to go to a fifth wheel, I should be ok.

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by Dennis C

It can be an issue with solid axle vehicles like Ford or Ram heavy duty trucks. That doesn’t mean that it will be an issue, but the possibility is real. That said, there are many people who swear by these vehicles and have no issues.

Just to note; Ford put out a service bulletin and if you are experiencing front end instability you just call up your local Ford dealer and they will replace a part. I did it about two months ago; quick and easy. I wasn't really having problems but figured "why wait"?

[dmassey321]

I have a 2020 F250 7.3L with a 3.55 rear. We initially pulled our 25’ International Signature all around the country and now our recently new 33’ Classic. Our mileage can vary depending on cargo, load, wind, etc. but is similar to what others have reported here.

I agree, that diesel - especially now with the 33’, would be superior in terms of being able to use the truck lanes to fill up. It’s not too often we can just pull in to a normal gas station with the F250 and 33’ combo. We do wish it had a larger gas tank for sure but also glad not to have to mess with DEF.

However, we have all the power we could need...even in the mountains and don’t really notice engine noise that much contrary to what was mentioned earlier in the thread. We have almost 20K miles now and no signs of death wobble ... but that can be fixed pretty easily. We did add Firestone air bags to help with squat but that was more of a preference than a requirement. Love the 10 speed tranny. Also would be tempted to trade for new given that I can trade in for more than I paid for it. Only drawback to that would be having no tow vehicle until the October timeframe ... believe new orders are projected to take at least that long.

One of the things I don’t love is the camera lock out feature when moving and in general the clunkiness of using the cameras. You can buy a fix to that ($350-$500) but we should not have to do that.

Overall, love the truck.

[BillTex]

We tow a 25 also. After 15 years of diesel went back to gas for our new truck. Most we tow is ~ 12,000lbs. The new ten speeds are a game changer for gassers. No regrets, in fact very happy to be back in gas.
I would pass right by the F250 and get the f350 though.

Good luck,
Bill

[Clintalyb]

I have the 7.3 in a 2020 f250 8’ bed. I love it. It’s not loud on the road like some mentioned. The 8’. Bed has a 48 gallon tank so range is better also.
I got it over the diesel bc it was 8k cheaper. The 10 speed is “wonky” every once in a while. It shifts weird from third to forth some times. I pull a 25’ fb through the mountains of western North Carolina with no problems.

[VinceArenas]

Originally Posted by Chrishall

I am changing trucks. I currently have a 2004 Ford F-350 6.0 Diesel pulling a 25 FBT flying cloud. I am considering a 2021 F250 non diesel. Large block Godzilla engine. It has Half the torque of the diesel but almost equal HP. I am mostly east of the Rockies.
Help me pick an engine.

We have a 2020 F250 Lariat Sport Tremor with the 7.3l V8. We tow a 27ft Flying Cloud. The truck is a beast. We pass semi’s going up hill with ease. We are also grateful to not have chosen a diesel. We saved over $10k going with the V8 and we don’t have to be concerned about high maintenance costs. The Godzilla V8 is definitely the way to go. You will not be disappointed.

[Northsite]

Met 2 guys on the road, one pulling an AS31 something (claimed at 10,000 lbs.) and the other with an Arctic Fox 27 something 5er (claimed at 12,250 lbs.). Both had F-350, crew, SRW, standard bed and the 7.3 gas. Both could only say great things about the 7.3, 10 speed combo. AS F-350 had a 4.10 rear and the AF had a 4.30 rear. The AS claimed 10.4 mpg and the AF 8 mpg, cruising at 60-65 mph. Fascinating conversation for me, a guy who has only pulled with diesels.

[JMynes]

Originally Posted by Hans627

I've had gas and I've had diesel. I like diesel better.

FWIW

I’ve had gas, and I’ve had diesel. I like gas better.

My truck does everything I ask of it without DEF and the diesel emission sensor failures I experienced.

When a diesel is working, it’s great! When it’s broke, you will be too.

I’m tempted to trade up to the 7.3, but the 6.2 is doing the job.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

First up, at no point in the last 4 years of towing a 30' Classic did I feel that we were "out of power" with the 6.2 gas engine. That was with a 6 speed and not the fancy new 10 speed. The numbers on the super duper monster truck engine are better, but not by a lot.

It's unclear at this point how many problems there will be with the 7.3. Come back in 5 years and we'll know a lot more about how it holds up. The design of the engine is not all that crazy. It's actually a very conservative approach. I don't expect there to be issues, but who can ever tell?

The big issues ( at least to me ) with any gas engine are:

1) Range. The gas tank is the same size with gas or diesel. You get more range with diesel.

2) Fuel stops when towing. If you are up above 50' long and pushing 60' .... the typical gas station is not set up for you. Indeed there are some that are, but many (once you leave Texas) are not. Of the ones that are not, quite a few have lanes that *are* set up nicely, but they only pump diesel.

Torque wise, the gas engines put out max torque at 2X the RPM. Gear that down by that same amount and *surprise* you double the torque provided. Yes the diesel still wins by a bit, but it's not by anywhere near what the bold print numbers would suggest.

https://www.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~k...gear_notes.pdf

With modern billion speed transmissions, the gears are spaced crazy close compared to the three speed manual that everybody bought not all that long ago. If power is needed, the gearing is there to match up with the peak point on the engine.

Right now I'm going from a gas 250 to a diesel 350 .....

Bob

[Life is a Highway]

I agree. Towing that Diesel puts a smile on your face

Originally Posted by Downhill502

Hey there! With your current Airstream payload will not need to be at the forefront of this decision but still needs to be considered with you looking at a 250. I would suggest you go and test drive both of them. To my wife and I it was immediately apparent that we did not want to listen to the drone of the 7.3l while driving for hours at a time. It really is incredible how quiet the new 2020+ 6.7l diesel is. Everyone likes to bring up the upfront investment of the diesel but rarely mention the return if you decide to sell or trade later.

[Bigventure]

I owned a 2016 f250 power stroke. It was a great truck. But, after 5 years i only had 35k on it. So it was not really worth it. I picked up some water in the fuel system. That is a 10k repair that is not covered by warranty. It’s replacing the entire fuel system. It requires the cab to be removed. The parts are on national back order to. I was stuck in NC for 2 weeks waiting for parts. The dealer bribed another by paying over book for the parts, that only 9 dealers had and would not sell.
When i got back to Cleveland oh i traded it for a f250 7.3 Godzilla truck. The diesel is nice if you drive it a lot. But, I don’t miss the diesel one bit. It was a hassle to take care of and worry about. The gas engine does just fine. A little less MPGs but it is still cheaper than the diesel to run. I have a 34 gallon tank. I do miss my 50 gallon Titan tank. I had 1000 mile range with it.

[RobdaSlob]

My wife and I just went thru this same exercise about a month ago. We ended up with a 2021 Platinum diesel. We drove both. I went into it tilting towards the gasser. The diesel drove much better than I thought it would and the gasser felt heavy - the torque difference is notable.

Residual value came into play as welll.

Also there are not a lot of gassers on the lot and I looked “virtually” at every lot in the southeast. So to get what I want in gas was order and 10 to 12 week wait.

So we went diesel. Platinum trim. Over 2600 lb payload. The camera system lets me park like a pro in a tight parking lot.

30 days and only 1800 miles but I am really happy with the purchase.

[AgBullet]

Originally Posted by RobdaSlob

My wife and I just went thru this same exercise about a month ago. We ended up with a 2021 Platinum diesel. We drove both. I went into it tilting towards the gasser. The diesel drove much better than I thought it would and the gasser felt heavy - the torque difference is notable.

Residual value came into play as welll.

Also there are not a lot of gassers on the lot and I looked “virtually” at every lot in the southeast. So to get what I want in gas was order and 10 to 12 week wait.

So we went diesel. Platinum trim. Over 2600 lb payload. The camera system lets me park like a pro in a tight parking lot.

30 days and only 1800 miles but I am really happy with the purchase.

After lots of research and test drives, I recently traded my F150 3.5 EB for an F250 6.7 Powerstroke. I love the torque, and the exhaust brakes; the F150 was a great truck, and got the job done; this will do it a little better.

[Photobum]

I towed for seven years with an F-150. When I found myself climbing mountains at27 mph I started looking for a new truck. First stop was an F-250 but then I realized the F-350 was essentially $1,000 more I started looking at it.
The interesting part was looking at power plants and mileage. I had diesel in mind and Ford had done little for theirs.
Then I was looking at the F-350 and test driving it. The dealer had a Ram 3500 on his lot with 60k miles. I asked about it. Turned out it had 60k miles and his buddy, the owner, had passed. Standard Cummins. I bought it for less than $50k. 14-15 mph towing, 19-20 just as a truck. Drives great!!!!

I am a full-timer, now in my eighth year. I love this truck. It goes where you point it and the trailer follows. Oh, and it has the Aisin transmission!!!!!

[Gneiss Guy]

When I taught a college course in Backcountry Camping, I told the students to buy the gear for the sort of trips they would actually take ... not the one they might possibly take. If you’re only doing desert hiking, no need to blow money on top-end rain gear, just because you might want to trek into a rain forest some day.

Same deal here, in my humble opinion. The F-250 is plenty of truck for your 25’ rig and the big gasser is going to do fine, especially if you are mostly east of the Rockies. I pull a FC 30’ with a 2016 F-250 long bed with a cap and it handles things fine. On a recent trip south, I averaged better than 9 mpg towing. I have also pulled that 30 footer across the Rockies multiple times. As for the difference in mileage, I use a Toyota Prius as my daily driver (58 mpg), so I don’t worry about burning a bit more fuel with the truck. Obviously, I think you are on the right track in considering the gasoline engine. I know diesels will last longer, but I find myself ready for a new truck, long before I actually wear one out anyway.

[MemphisRebel]

I have a 2020 F250 Lariat with the 6.7L diesel. I had the stock 34 gallon tank swapped out for a 55 gallon Titan tank. The Titan was expensive and sits about 1”-2” lower than the stock tank, so I also lost the FX4 package skid plate. I get about 1200 miles per tank highway without trailer and 12mpg highway with my current trailer (37’ Grand Design - my 30FB Bunk is still on order).

I would personally not go back to gas, the range, truck stop lanes, engine brake, all make it worth it for me. The TSD Fuel card brings the diesel cost down when traveling, and locally I save up Kroger grocery fuel points and go do one massive fillup with a big discount. DEF if cheap when filling up at truck stops, and the truck burns very little DEF driving around the city when not towing. I rarely have to buy the DEF jugs locally.

Plus the school bus sound of the diesel puts a smile on my face.

[nryn]

I can’t speak to towing anything longer than a 27’ Airstream nor can I speak with experience of owning a diesel truck (I do own a diesel tractor and skid steer, though—do those count)? But I can say that as a relative newbie to RV travel, with a 2019 6.2 gas F-250 and a 2019 Globetrotter, I made it to Alaska and back from Illinois with no issues pulling the Airstream, getting gas at pumps, managing speed up and down many mountain ranges, etc.

Everyone’s entitled to their preferences, of course. It may well be the case that diesels do these things better. But if I can do them with an F-250 6.2, a 27’ Airstream and a family of four and associated stuff, they can absolutely be done with a 10-speed Godzilla and a 25’ Airstream. I didn’t want a diesel to begin with (for a number of reasons) but the person I trust most in this world about anything vehicle-related owns a fleet of working trucks (all Ford) and told me he was slowly working diesel out of his fleet for maintenance reasons.

[majorairhead]

6.2 gasser here. 57k miles. Just ran 2,835. No issues.

As low as 2.33 a gallon in SC, to 2.99 in PA.